Welcome back to beautiful Argentina. In the first article of the South America Series published In March 2018, I covered highlights of the city of Buenos Aires then traveled northwest to the breathtaking Iguazu Falls. That was only the tip of the iceberg. Argentina’s landscape, culture and history offers much, much more to today’s traveler.
WINE: In November, 2010, the Argentinian government declared wine as Argentina’s liquor.
A brief look at the wine industry in Argentina: Located in the Western part of the country at the foothills of the Andes, major Argentinian wine regions have a semi-arid desert like climate in which they grow grapes for their wines.
Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. Wine, as with some of Argentina’s cuisine has its roots in Spain. According to history, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, vine cuttings were brought to Santiago de Estero in 1557. From there the cultivation of the grape and wine production stretched first to neighbouring regions and then to other parts of the country. Historically, winemakers were more interested in quantity not quality with 90% of the wine it produces being consumed within Argentina. According to statistics from 2006, 45 litres per year per capita/per person are consumed. Up until the early 1990’s, Argentina produced more wine that any other country outside of Europe, though the majority of it was considered to be non-exportable.
Perhaps the next time you are looking for a new wine to try you might think of trying something from this wine region of the world.
Now, taking you south to the rugged region of Patagonia and home of the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, which is known as South America’s southern frontier. This barren and beautiful area where nature grows wild jagged peaks, pristine rivers cover an enormous area through Argentina & Chile reaching to the southern-most tip of the continent, Cape Horn.
History fact: At the beginning of the twentieth century, this rugged beautiful area of vast land, deserts, mountains etc. drew personalities such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Here their names were changed to: Kid would be known as Henry Place and Cassidy as Santiago Ryan. In 1905 the first robbery since their presence happened in the south. Then a few years later they re-appeared in Choilla as business partners, bringing horses and sheep to the region. Setting up a countryside store they left an English man in charge. A few years later in 1907 another robbery occurred, then without leaving tracks they disappeared to a more desolate place, where in 1908 where it is recorded they were murdered by the Bolivian Army in the village of San Vincente.
The Patagonia region offers many activities and style of travel to those wishing to explore this area. Everything from skiing, fishing, hiking, whale watching, glacier trekking ……. Along with all the activities are different methods and style of travel as well. Some may enjoy getting back to nature with hiking and camping expeditions, while others would prefer the comforts of the 3-4 star hotels with all the amenities. For every personal style there is a fit. Many of the tours for instance that take to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares for tours of the magnificent Perito Moreno Glacier along with boat tours, will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel. No need to rent a car and the hassle of seeking out transportation to. 
Other popular tour areas such as Beagle Island Channel & Lobos Island and the End of World Train are very popular to people that venture to El Calafate & Ushuaia areas. The end of world train takes you on the same voyage as the prisoners whom once rode these rails. Beagle Island Channel & Lobos Island tours will take you along some of the route charted by Charles Darwin.
Part I and II of the South America Series featuring information on Argentina only scrape the surface of all there is to see in do in this beautiful country. After flying into Buenos Aires, there are domestic airlines, such as Aerolineas Argentinas, which provide the quickest transportation between these areas. As well as Air Travel, there are numerous cruises from ports in Buenos Aires, Miami and San Diego, which you can take that will take you too many regions in South America as well. To help you create an Argentinian vacation, I suggest contacting a travel consultant to assist you with all the options, details covering that area and activities which are of interest to you.
“Travel is one of the best forms of education and there is always something to learn”